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l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. B. GRAY.

A Windv Wheel.

No. 232,815. Patented Oct. 5,1880.

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T. B.. GRAY. Wind Wheel.

Patented Oct; 5,1880.

UNITED STATES IAfrnnr @errent THOMAS B. GRAY, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF *OF HIS RIGHT TO JOHN D. KNOX, OF SAME PLACE.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 232,815, dated October 5, 1880.

Application filed March 27, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THoMAs B. GRAY, a citizen of the United States, resident at Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wind-Wheels, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which 1o il appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked there'- on, which forni a part of this specification.

Figure l is a side elevation of a wind-wheel having my improvements applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinal section through the center of the same. Fig. 3 is a front eleration. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the horizontal shaft with some of the mechanism 2o connected therewith by which the position of the fans is automatically or otherwise adjusted 5 Figs. 5, 6, and 7, details of construction enlarged; and Fig. S shows the method of attaching the vanes to the turn-table.

This invention consists in a wheel composed of concentric inner and outer rims held together and to the hub of the revolving shaft by suitable rods, and provided with fans pivoted to turn within the circumference of the 3o rims, as will be hereinafter fully explained,

and pointed out in the claims.

My invention also consists in certain devices to be operated automatically or otherwise for sliding the inner horizontal shaft within the outer one, so that through the connections which extend between the shafts and fans the I latter may be more conveniently trimmed to any angle of inclination to the wind when a change in speed is required.

stand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I` have carried 4 5 tionary circular platform mounted on post-s or standards B B. Upon this platform rests a circular plate or table, a, held in place by4 iianges or projections b, and adapted to freelyl ,revolve thereon. s O

To enable others skilled in the art to underl from the top of the revolving table a are located bearings o c, in which revolves the horizontal windwheel shaft O, upon which is intended to be secured a vertical bevel-wheel to engage with and drive a horizontal bevel-gear to be secured to the top of a vertical shaft, (not shown,) which is to revolve in a suitable bearing provided therefor within a concave cross-bar, D, stayed in place by a brace, E, this vertical shaft referred to connecting the wheel with the machinery below.

The main shaft G of the wind-wheel is hollow, and is provided at its rear with a longitudinal slot, d, through which passes a pin, c, extending through a sleeve or'collar, G, which surrounds the shaft O.

h is a spiral spring, one end of which bea-rs against the pin e, and the other against the inside of a cap, t', formed on the rear end of the shaft C.

To the collar G, by means of its pin e, or otherwise, is connected the rearend of a'solid shaft, H, of small diameter, which is located within the hollow main shaft C, the resistance of the spring h against the collar pressing the inner shaft, H, outward, as'seen in section, Fig. 2. Near its forward end the shaft O is provided with a hub,k,into which are screwed the inner ends of arms or braces l, the outer ends of which are secured to an inner ring or circular rim, I, by means of nuts m and screwthreads, the inner ring being iiat, and having hole's punched through it for this purpose. The outer rim, K, is secured immovably to the inner rim by means of a series of arms or braces, a, both ends of which are also provided with screw-threads and nuts p, and the outer rim is still further stayed by braces af, provided at both ends with screw-threads, and extends from and into the hub k into holes in the outer rim, the outer parts being held together by nuts. The rods u, upon which the j outer series of fans, M, are pivoted, have both In the said drawings, A represents a sta-l ends provided with screw-threads, and enter holes in the inner and outer rims, I K, where they are firmly held by nuts. Instead of rods n, bolts may be employed. The inner series of fans, L, are pivoted to rods cZ, whose inner 1 endsare screwed within the hub, and whose At points diametrically opposite and rising outer ends pass through holes in the inner rim Ioo 2 l gamers l, and are fastened thereto by nuts; but bolts may be substituted for screw-rods d by slightly changing the construction of the outside of the hub.

e are braces extending from a projection, f, on the front end of the inner shaft, H, to some of the rods d', to which the fans L are pivoted. Some of the fans M of the outer series and some of the fans L of the inner series are united with the projection f on the sliding shaft H by long connecting-rods h e, the ends of which are so constructed that they may be readily detached when desired. All of the fans M forming the outer section, between the inner and outer rims, I K, are secured at the center of their back or rear edges to a circular band or brace, N, and all of the fans L of the inner section, between the inner rim, I, and hub 7c, are secured at their rear edges to a circular band or brace, P, whereby, when the inner shaft is drawn into the outer shaft by means hereinafter to be described, motion is communicated to the connecting-rods h c', and through them to all of the fans of the .outer and inner sections, whereby they are trimmed to the wind, as desired, and more or less ofthe actuating power utilized.

The construction (herein referred to) of the rods a d', on which the fans are pivoted, the connecting-rods h e', and their fastenings, together with the fastenings of the fans to their circular bands N l?, admit of the ready setting up and removal of the several parts, and ofthe addition or omission of one or more outer sections of fans, or of the inner section when it is required to increase or diminish the effective fan-surface of the wind-wheel-a valnable feature, which forms one of the special objects of my present invention.

When the force of the wind is so great as to exert an excessive pressure on the fans the spring h at the rear end of the inner shaft yields thereto, and this shaft is caused to slide Within the outer shaft, and through the connections described the several fans of both sections are turned from their previous inclination to the wind into a position in which their edges are in line with or parallel thereto, thus relieving the strain on the wheel, the fans being returned to their normal position by the resiliency of the spring on the subsidence of the wind.

Projecting from the under side of the crossbar D, upon which the upper bearing of the vertical shaft is to be located, is a tubular guide, q, of oval form, Fig. 7provided with a feather, r, which ts into a spline, s, within a ange, t, formed on the top of an oval sleeve, u, surrounding the tubular guide q, the lower portion of the sleeve, which projects down through a slotted lever, N, and has a circular enlargement, 12, at its lower end, being provided with a spline to pass over the feather r, by which construction the sleeve is made to revolve as the wheel adjusts itself to the wind and descends on the outside of the tubular guide on the depression of the lever N. This lever is pivoted at one end to one of the standards or posts B at l. To each side of the flange t is secured one end of a cord or chain, m', which passes up over a guide roll or pulley, a', turning on a pin on the under side of the cross-bar D. Thence the cord or chain m is led around another guide-roll, pl, turning in bearings located near the rear end of the main shaft C and rising from the revolving table a. Thence the cord or chain m is led along parallel with said shaft, and is secured to a sliding sleeve or collar, w, sur rounding the shaft C, and located immedi ately in front of the collar G, against which the front of the spiral spring 7L bears.

To prevent the collar to from turning when the shaft C revolves a rod, q, projects from the under side of the collar w and enters a slot, r', in the outer end of the brace E, by which means the twisting aud entanglement of the cords or chains m is avoided during the revolution of the main shaft C or the revolution of the plate or table on which it rests, while at the same time this construction does not interfere with the slidin g ofthe inner shaft.

The connection of the lever with the collar fw, by means of the cords or chains m', is for the purpose of drawing the inner shaft, H, within the main or hollow shaft C, against the resistance of the spring h, thus causing the connecting-rods h c to incline the fans L M of 'both sections at such an angle with the wind as to relieve its pressure on the wheel when its speed and that of the revolving shafts C H are to be reduced or entirely suspended. This change of speed or stoppage of the wheel and its shafts maybe accomplished either automatically by depressing the lever N by a cord, 13, Figs. l and 2, attached to a weight or a float or other device, (not shown,) or by an attendant pulling on the cord 13.

VV are vanes, preferably of metal, pivoted to the revolving plate or table a. They are composed of the arms Q Q and win gs or blades R R, These arms are pivoted to the table a, on opposite sides thereof, and cross each other, and are connected by a spiral spring, @,located between them at a point in the rear of the table. The office of this spring is to hold the wings or blades R R at some distance apart, and at an angle to the wind when the latter is not strong, and to allow them to approach each other when the wind increases, by which means the wheel will be held steadily to the wind as its force varies, whereby the swaying of the wheel incident to the use of a single vane is avoided. f

Each blade or wing R is connected with its arm Q by means of a metallic rod or strap, S, disposed in the form of a large loop, which is securely fastened at various points to the blade or win g and affords an extended bearing therefor, and serves as a powerful brace to hold it securely in the desired position, this construction admitting of the use of a blade of thin metal, and consequent-ly one of increased size.

I claiml. The improved Wind-Wheel composed of the concentric inner and outer rims, I K, the concentric inner and outer series of fans, L M, the rods or arms d "and n, connecting the concentric rims to the hub and to each other, the fans of the inner series, L, being pivoted to arms d and turning between the rim I and shaft G, and the fans of the outer series, M, being pivotcd to the arms a and turning between the rims I and K, and all supported by suitable braces, substantially as set t'orth.

2. The independent inner and outer rims, l K, with their series of fans L M, and circular connecting-bands N P, in combination with the inner and outer shafts, H C, and suitable rods and braces for connecting them with said rims and fans, as and for the purpose described.

3. The depressing-lever N', tubular guide q,

and-sleeve u, in combination with thecollars g and w, and connecting cords or chains in', for causing the inner shaft, Hfto slide vWithin the outer or main shaft, O, against the resistance of the spring'h, for the purpose specified.

4. In combination, the depressinglever with its slot, the oval tubularguide Q, with its feather r, the oval sleeve u, with its spline s, flange t, and enlargement 12, the guide-rolls n p', cords or chains m', collar w, with its guide-rod q, slotted brace E, the' collar G, spring L, and inner and outershafts, H C, constructed to operate as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 23d day ot' March, 1880.

THOMAS B. GRAY.

Witnesses MINNIE TRrcKEY, L. C. TRIcKEY. 

